Sianim 01 - Masques

until she was almost sitting in his lap. “You’re already doing it, thanks. I’m sorry. Just jittery after the fight.”
    “I don’t mind.” He sat still, holding her almost awkwardly—but his warmth seeped in and alleviated the cold that blankets hadn’t been able to dispel.
    Aralorn relaxed but felt no pressing need to move away. “I must be turning into one of those women who moan and wail at the first chance they get—just so a handsome man will take them into his arms.” Yes, she was flirting. It didn’t seem to bother him.
    “Hmm,” he said, apparently considering what she had said. “Is that why they do it? I have always wondered.”
    “Yup,” she said wisely, noticing that he wasn’t holding her as stiffly. As if he wasn’t used to someone so close. She’d snuggled down with the wolf sometimes—although rarely. He seldom invited touch. “Then,” Aralorn continued, keeping it light, “she has her way with him, and he has to marry her. It’s nice to know that I haven’t fallen to that level . . . yet.”
    “So that’s not why you’re here?” He seemed intrigued rather than unhappy, she decided.
    She paused, then said, “I was just getting a little chilled and thought to myself, ‘Aralorn, what is the easiest way to get warm?’ ‘Well,’ I said, ‘the fire is nice, but moving requires so much effort.’ ‘Ah yes,’ I answered, ‘why didn’t I think of it before? There is all of that heat going to waste on the other side of the fire.’ All it took was a few broad hints, and, presto, you’re here: instant heat with very little effort upon my part.”
    “Yes,” he said, tightening his grip and releasing it a moment later. “I can see how that works. Nicely underhanded of you.”
    She nodded happily: The tension caused by the nightmare dissipated with the familiar banter. “I thought so, too. It’s Ren’s fault—he teaches us how to be sneaky.” She yawned sleepily, closing her eyes. “Oh, I meant to ask—who is keeping watch on the camp?”
    “Myr took care of it,” he answered her. “The ae’Magi won’t have planned two attacks in the same evening, and he won’t find out about Edom’s failure until he doesn’t report. Magical communication isn’t all that it could be in these mountains.”
    “Report.” She sat up a little straighter. “Wolf, if Edom was his creature, the ae’Magi knows where we are. Are you sure Edom wasn’t acting on his own?” It was unlikely, but it was possible.
    “Edom belonged to the ae’Magi,” Wolf answered. “I recognized the sword. As far as the ae’Magi knowing where we are . . . Aralorn, there are only so many places we could hide from the ae’Magi. Eventually, he’ll find us, whether or not Edom had a chance to tell him.” He shrugged. “If it helps any, I would have noticed anything Edom could do magically to communicate. He’d have had to use mundane means.”
    It did make her feel better. Her temporary alertness faded into exhaustion. As she wiggled into the generous warmth of him, she decided that Wolf was more comfortable to sleep on when he was wearing human shape; he smelled better, too.

    Wolf waited until she was asleep before he set her back down on her blankets. He added his blankets to hers and tucked them carefully around her. He brushed a hand against her cheek. “Sleep, Lady.” He hesitated, but she was truly asleep. “My Lady,” he whispered.
    He shifted into his wolf shape and stretched out beside her and stared into the night. Being human so much made him nervous after all the time he’d spent as a wolf. The wolf would have heard Edom coming.
    The wolf wouldn’t have felt so awkward taking what she’d given him.

    As she had expected, Aralorn was alone when she woke up. Wolf’s longest absences were the result of a display of affection on his part, as if it was something with which he was not comfortable or, in light of what she’d been learning about him, felt he didn’t deserve.
    To her surprise, her reception at camp was cordial. She collected a few wary looks, and that was all. Mostly, she thought, Myr was keeping them too busy sewing and digging to worry about her one way or another.
    If the adults showed little reaction, the children were fascinated by the shapechanger in their midst. They wanted to know if she could change into a rock (no) or a bird (they liked the goose, but would have preferred an eagle or, better yet, a vulture), and if shapeshifters really had to drink